Rising Tides
by PixelSylveon
Summary: High school AU! Moon and Sun, twins from Kanto, have moved to Alola with their mother and are starting half-way through the year at the trainer school in Hau'oli. Moon and Sun slowly befriend the cast from the games, and discoveries are made!
1. Across the Ocean

aaaaaaah after days of writing this im finally posting the first chapter

I'll be writing this when I have time, since it's summer break now.

(I still have so many boxes to unpack since we just moved uuugh)

* * *

"Sun, if you don't hurry, I'm leaving without you," a dark-haired girl called from the entrance of the two-storey house, lidded cup full to the brim with iced coffee. Tumbling down the stairs came a boy who shared many of the same features as her, dressed in a white and blue striped t-shirt and grey jeans. He pulled a red backpack off the chair he walked by, coming to a stop in front of the girl.

"Morning, Moon!" A grin was etched onto his face, not a noticeable trace of sleep in his eyes. He pulled on his sneakers quickly before motioning to the girl to open the door behind her. They exited the house quietly, Moon untangling her ear buds as they began their trek to their new school.

"I can't believe its been a week since we moved already," Sun commented, arms crossed behind his head, smile still present. It was quickly taken over by a frown as Moon popped one bud in her ear, phone in the other hand, thumbing through her music, coffee huddled in the crook of her arm. "Oh, come on!" He wailed, poking her shoulder.

She only shrugged him away in response.

It had been a week since they moved from Kanto to Alola, and she was hating every minute of the intense heat. No longer could she afford to live in her hoodies and jeans, and so had to bear with a tank top and shorts, shoulder-length hair tied into a messy bun. It was the early morning, and already the sun was taunting her.

 _This school better have air conditioning,_ she thought, taking a sip of her drink as she ignored her brother.

The walk was relaxing for the most part, however, and a constant breeze from the ocean made it more bearable. It didn't take them long to find the trainer's school, as it loomed in on them from quite a distance away. The building had at least three floors, and verandas could be seen along the length of the buildings.

 _Open walkways. So, no A/C?_

The two reached the school grounds minutes later, Sun ogling the field in front of them. "It looks like they have everything here!" Moon ignored his exclamation, instead focusing on her schedule.

"Why is it block scheduling?" She groaned, eying the four classes with disdain. On the corner of her paper listed her locker number, one hundred. Trying to find that locker would be like finding a needle in a haystack, she decided.

Not something she wanted to do.

The building inside was bright, early sunlight providing all they needed. Warm colours splashed the indoor hallways, a contrast to the cool grey lockers that lined the walls. Moon bit the inside of her cheek, dragging her brother along as they scouted for their lockers.

"Ah, found mine!" He pipped up, coming to a halt in front of the locker labelled "fifty". He waved his sister off. "Have fun finding yours!"

A boy with a spiked ponytail came up to them just as Moon was to leave, stopping in front of Sun. His eyes simply sparkled, a wide grin on his face. "Are you two new?" He questioned excitedly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Sun let out a small laugh, scratching his neck.

"Yeah, we are! I'm Sun, and this is –" Before he could introduce his sister, Moon had already put her ear buds back in, wandering farther down the hallway. "– Moon, my twin," Sun ended with a sigh.

Just a tad further down the hallway, Moon found her own locker, conveniently across the hall to her pokemon behavioral studies class. Though it was her last class that day, she was somewhat glad she had found it easily enough.

She shifted her coffee back into the crook of her arm in order to open her locker, panicking when she felt it shift. _Oh no oh no oh no –_

Just as it was about to fall, Moon felt a presence beside her, and her cup slowly moved up and into the hands of the person beside her. She opened her locker, hanging the lock on clasp, her head turning to her saviour.

She was met by the most beautiful boy she had ever laid eyes on. His hair was cloud-like, a pink cotton candy colour, tan skin tone offsetting the white and brown apparel he had on. Grey eyes made her melt as he handed back her coffee to her with a small smile.

"T-thank you," Moon stuttered, cheeks slowly tinting red. The boy laughed, a small, light melody.

"I take it you're one of our new students?" He asked. Moon nodded in reply, taking out an earbud to hear him better.

"My brother and I," she said a moment later, mind beginning to run properly again. "I'm Moon." She held out a hand to the boy, and he grasped it with his own, smile growing.

"Ilima. What's your schedule look like?" The girl fumbled through her bag, pulling out her schedule and handing it to him. He looked over it, eyebrows slightly creased.

He handed it back to her. "I see we have history together," he commented softly as Moon placed her bag in her locker, opting to just keep her notebook and pen on her for the first day. "I can show you around, if you like?" Another nod, and they headed on their way, Moon responding with simple answers to the questions Ilima asked her.

They took their seats in the classroom once they arrived. Ilima turned around to the two behind them, greeting the two girls. One was a blond girl with sparkling green eyes in a white dress, the other a girl with green hair separated into twin tails. "Good morning Lillie, Mallow."

"Good morning Ilima! Who might this be?" The green haired girl, presumably Mallow, chimed in response, looking at Moon with a grin.

"This is Moon. Her and her brother moved here from Kanto," he explained, Moon nodding to confirm as she was too busy drinking her coffee.

The class continued to fill in as they made idle banter, Moon answering in few words. She couldn't help but question how people in Alola were so nice – _it must have something to do with the climate_.

Soon enough the class started; the teacher handed out syllabi and textbooks, going over the mandatory pleasantries. The ninety-minute class dragged on, and Moon was thankful for her coffee that she had finished within the first twenty minutes.

The class broke a few minutes before the bell, and Moon waved her goodbyes before heading back to her locker to drop off her textbook and empty cup. Her next class was art, and she was eager to see what it would be like.

She grabbed a pencil just in case, schedule in hand, ear buds in, and went off to find her next class.

It was a corner room on the second floor with a door leading to a seating area on the veranda, and it housed a gorgeous view of Hau'oli. Moon smiled, taking a seat by the door. The class filled up quickly, and Moon spotted a girl wearing a baggy shirt with paint splattered across her face. _Ah, it's going to be_ that _kind of art class_.

It flew by a little bit faster than her first class, if only because Moon could doodle while listening to the eccentric teacher go over the course material.

Sun awaited her at her locker for lunch, accompanied by the boy who had stopped at his locker in the morning. Moon pulled an ear bud out, sighing as her brother moved out of the way so she could put her stuff inside.

"You're coming with us for lunch!" Sun declared, his grin the only thing Moon could see once she closed her locker door.

"Sure."

She followed behind the two boys, who chattered excitedly over the differences between Kantonian and Alolan meowths.

They made their way to a circular, very open room. It was the cafeteria, though it encompassed two floors. On the ground floor was the cafeteria, wall to wall crossed with long tables to house the students who stayed at the school for the lunch break. The upper level had a staircase leading to it, and seemed to have comfortable chairs and couches. It circled around the cafeteria, leaving a large portion of the second floor open for the glass ceiling to light up the whole area.

Moon was only slightly in awe. It was far different from the trainer school they attended back in Kanto.

They made their way to an already populated table after grabbing food, Hau leading the way. Moon spotted the girls she met that morning, along with Ilima, who motioned for her to sit with them.

She obliged, sitting between Ilima and Lillie, across the table from a blond boy who looked _strikingly_ similar to the girl beside her. He was focused on the book in front of him, though he also had earbuds in, tuning out the chatter around him. Moon turned to Lillie, a questioning look in her eyes. Lillie understood immediately, reaching over and tapping the book the boy was reading to get his attention. He sighed, pulling out an earbud before green eyes looked up, locking with Lillie's.

"What do you want, Lillie?" He asked, free hand brushing through the bangs that hung over his one eye. Lillie giggled in reply, motioning to Moon and Sun, who was farther down the table, talking to who Moon learned was Hau, and another guy who was _very shirtless._

 _What the heck_ , Moon thought, brows furrowed.

"This is Moon! Her and her brother just moved here," Lillie said, patting Moon on the shoulder affectionately. Moon waved a hand awkwardly, feeling as if she were being scrutinized under his gaze. "Moon, this is my brother Gladion!"

"Alola," he said, nodding slightly at Moon before going back to his music and book. Moon turned to Lillie, eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"Is he always like that?" She whispered, causing Lillie to laugh.

"Gladion's his own person," she replied, eyes sparkling. "Stubborn and quiet. He'll warm up to you eventually."

Moon only nodded, not really caring who ended up 'warming up to her'. Sun was the more social one, after all.

Though, she was still surprised everyone had been so accepting of her and Sun after just knowing them a full three hours.

Moon took out her schedule, trying to picture in her mind where her next class would be – advanced battle techniques. She was a tad more competitive than her brother when it came to battling, and actually enjoyed coming up with different strategies. The class was supposed to take strategizing into account, as well as different training regimens and ways to help pokemon excel in certain 'stats'.

Lillie glanced over Moon's shoulder, reading through her schedule. "Your last two classes today are with Gladion! I'm certain he can show you around," she cooed.

Moon faltered, eyes flashing in apprehension.

 _I mean, he's probably fine,_ she reasoned mentally. _He's just all dressed in black and red and looks moderately thuggish._

The rest of lunch went by quickly, Moon listening in on the conversations around her more so than partaking in them herself. Lillie had bugged her brother a second time to ask him to show Moon to her other classes, causing the older sibling to groan.

He complied, however.

The warning bell rang, and Gladion placed a bookmark in his book and closed it, staring pointedly at Moon. "Where's your locker?" She explained how it was across from their behavioral studies class as he stood, nodding in affirmation. "We'll go to my locker first."

She hurried to stand as well, and then rushed after the blond whose long strides carried him off into the distance. Once Moon had caught up with Gladion, he slowed his pace ever so slightly, though he still weaved his way around students with such grace it was tough to keep up.

When Moon realized what way they were going, her chest tightened, if ever so slightly.

Right beside behavior studies, across the hall from her own locker, was Gladion's.

 _How does this school even_ assign _lockers?_ Moon thought, brows furrowed as Gladion opened his locker with ease, switching around items until a binder was in his hand. She peaked into his locker, noting how tidy it was, and how there seemed to be a binder for each subject. _Wow, organized much._

Gladion closed his locker, eyes again focused on Moon in a feeble attempt to get her to move. She 'eeped', turning around and running to her own, grabbing the notebook she would be using for that class. The sounded of her locker closing was lost in the sea of chattering students, and Moon nodded numbly to Gladion, signalling they were good to go.

They took off, towards the entrance of the school, then swung left out onto the veranda. Moon looked out past the rails, admiring the field and forest beyond, sun high in the sky with nary a cloud to cover it.

The classroom had no real windows, set against the veranda. It was open, desks paired in twos, four lines in total. The front of the classroom had a white board as well as a smart screen, piquing curiosity in Moon. _I guess the pokemon related classes get more funds?_

Much to her surprise, Gladion took a seat at the front of the class, sitting by the wall attached to the veranda. Not seeing anyone familiar, Moon looked back and forth before her gaze landed on Gladion, binder already open and sorting through papers.

"Can I sit next to you?" She asked meekly, relief washing over her when he nodded absentmindedly. She took her seat and began filing out the basics for her notebook. It was good to at least _try_ and label it properly.

The class filed in, and Moon spotted the shirtless guy that was talking to Sun during lunch. He noticed her and Gladion, walking over with a grin on his face.

"Hey, Gladion." The blond mumbled a barely audible 'hello', and Mr. Shirtless turned his gaze to Moon. "You're Sun's sister, right? Moon?"

She nodded.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Kiawe." He put a hand on his hip, smile growing larger, if that was even possible. Moon nodded again, a quiet greeting escaping her lips.

All she could think about was why he was shirtless.

Kiawe took the seat behind Moon, and she shook her head in an attempt to refocus. Ilima came barreling in not long after, smiling as he went to sit behind Gladion.

The teacher came in, and Moon almost fell out of her desk. He was wearing an open lab coat, bare-chested otherwise. _What the fuck, Alola,_ she thought, cheeks turning red when Gladion's gaze turned to see what she was doing.

"Get used to it," he muttered softly, pen tapping his binder absentmindedly. Moon sighed.

The class its self was rather basic, the teacher – Kukui, as he wanted to be called – went over the syllabus, handed out textbooks, and made everyone state what their current team was.

Of course, he had to start with Gladion.

"Umbreon and crobat," he said plainly, as if his reply was rehearsed.

The classroom's gaze fell on Moon. "Uh, espeon and mareanie." Moon gave a shy smile, and the class continued to list their teams.

She could feel Gladion's eyes on her again, though she was too nervous to look back. _Eevee are popular, don't look at me like that!_

It seemed the students only had one or two pokemon each, and Kukui nodded his head in approval.

The bell rang not long after that, signalling the ten-minute break before their last class. Moon stood, grabbing her notebook and pen, facing Ilima as he spoke up.

"Enjoying your classes so far?" His eyes gleamed, a small smile on his lips as he stood next to Moon.

"It's not too bad so far," she replied with a shrug. Gladion had stood, book and binder tucked under his arm, face as neutral as ever. He gave a quick nod to the three of them, leaving soon after. Moon's eyes followed his back, wondering how he could stand the heat with such dark clothes.

Kiawe, who was already standing by the door, had a smug grin on his face. "Lillie got Gladion to show you around?"

Moon nodded, walking beside Ilima as they left the room. "Yeah; I'm surprised he did, honestly," she said softly. "He kind of intimidates me."

Kiawe and Ilima both chuckled at this, the former patting Moon on the shoulder. "He hasn't glared at you yet! Consider yourself lucky."

"Honestly, though," Ilima spoke up, "Gladion's a good guy. He's just very reserved. Don't let looks deceive you."

* * *

Moon entered her last class of the day, impatient to get it over with. Ninety-minute classes were going to be the death of her.

She saw Gladion sitting near the front again, though she scoured the room for any other familiar faces. Seeing none, besides the purple-haired girl wearing a pale dress that had sat at their table at lunch, Moon took her seat beside Gladion.

Again.

This time he didn't even look up, too busy tapping something out on his phone.

* * *

Before Moon knew it, class was over, and she was ready to rush back to her airconditioned cave of a bedroom. Grabbing her textbook and notebook, she hightailed it out of the class. She rearranged her items at her locker quickly, putting her earbuds in and turning up her music.

 _Freedom at last,_ she thought, pausing for a moment, debating if she should wait for her brother or not.

 _Nah_.

With that, Moon left the building.

* * *

Moon really hates school

honestly she's the embodiment of most people. Goes to school, gets it over and done with, leaves.

I guess that's more of a college/uni thing than hs thing but it still kinda applies

also

expect a lot of tropes in this fanfic

i have a need for tropes


	2. Mango Kimono

If you haven't noticed I'm naming my chapters after songs I keep listening to on the spoofy, so there's that.

Short chapter, decent chapter. Some Gladion interaction until I can progress _plot_ lol

Also, thank you Olivia-Ivy and kitsunescythe for the reviews!

* * *

Moon kicked off her shoes at the door, thankful to be home. The walk from the school had been blistering, and Moon wanted nothing more than to hide in her cold, dark room.

A woman's head poked out from the kitchen area, brown hair tied in a loose braid. "Oh, _Tsukiko_ , you're home! Where's your brother?" Moon's mother stepped into the hall, dressed in business casual, a dish and rag in her hands.

Moon almost jumped back in shock, not expecting their mother to be home. "I left without him," she replied after a moment, her mother's question finally having processed.

Her mother sighed, though the corner of her lips were turned up in a small smile. "How was school?" She asked, tone changing, her voice a tad lower.

Moon took a moment before responding. "It was good, actually." This brightened her mother's expression, eyes glowing with relief.

"Good – come have some mango with me before I have to go back to work."

Moon stepped into the kitchen, a pokeball in each hand, and released her pokemon. Her espeon jumped onto one of the chairs right away, mareanie heading out to soak in the man-made salt water pool by the house.

Her mother had already cut up the mangoes, each half scored and pushed out, savory fruit ready to be eaten. She handed the first plate to Moon, the girl's eyes sparkling.

If there was one thing she loved, it was mangoes.

Just as Moon was ready to dig in, she heard the door open, and the shuffling of feet. She whipped her head toward the entrance of the kitchen, eyebrows furrowing when Sun walked in with Hau.

"Hey, mom, Moon," Sun greeted, grabbing a seat by his sister, directing Hau to sit beside him at the breakfast bar. "Mom, this is Hau."

The Alola native greeted their mother energetically, legs swinging under the bar stool.

Moon cast a glare at her brother.

"I take it school went well for you as well, _Haruki_?" Their mother asked, the smile on her face growing to an outright grin as Hau beamed.

"It was awesome! People in Alola are really kind," Sun replied, his own grin forming. He let out his own pokemon, a vulpix and meowth, causing Hau to jump out of his chair to greet the Kantonian pokemon.

Moon shovelled her mango into her mouth, expression sour. She just wanted to enjoy her mango and have a quiet afternoon, but no!

 _At least Sun is making friends, I guess_ , she thought.

Moon finished her fruit, throwing the skin into the compost and rinsing her dish. She sighed, saying a quick goodbye to her mother before heading upstairs to her room.

She closed the door behind her after her espeon snuck in, sighing in relief. Dropping her bag on her bed, she plopped onto the desk chair, swivelling to face her two monitors.

Oh, how she was revelling in the a/c.

Moon opened her chat program, noting the new message from one of her online friends.

 _Keitia: How was your first day at the new school?_

A smile crossed her features. They had only started talking recently, yet Keitia was pleasant to talk to.

And also a huge nerd.

 _degdeg: it was decent, actually. Alolans are too nice._

Moon giggled. _I think I should change my username._ She bit her lip. _Ah, never mind. It's hilarious._

 _Serena: Sounds like a step up from what you had to deal with before!_

 _graphic design is my passion: any cute bois tho (insert degdeg emoji here)_

 _degdeg: I mean I guess?_

 _graphic design is my passion: no one interesting though? ovo_

 _degdeg: I mean there was this one edgelord but_

 _Serena: Edgelord?_

 _degdeg: I don't know how he managed to wear all those dark layers in the heat!_

 _graphic design is my passion: but was he_ c u t e

 _degdeg: *shrugs*_

 _Keitia: Dark clothes in Alolan weather? Must be crazy_

Moon laughed, continuing to talk to her group of friends.

She spent the majority of her evening in her room, hoping the next day would go by quickly enough.

* * *

Moon stood outside her locker, schedule in her hand. She had her art class first, and honestly didn't know what to expect.

She took a sip of her iced coffee, hoping it would wake her up.

Tired eyes stared bleakly at her locker, Moon not wanting to move. A yawn slipped past her lips, and she covered her mouth with her hand, attempting to be polite.

Grabbing her stuff, she closed her locker and turned, watching the students mill about.

She glanced toward Gladion's locker, though she didn't see him. With a shrug she left, using all her effort to get herself to the second floor of the school.

* * *

By the time lunch rolled around, Moon was starved, and rushed from history to drop her books at her locker. She met Sun at his locker, accompanied by Hau, and the three made their way to their table.

After grabbing food, Moon sat between Hau and Lillie, across from Gladion once again. He poked the chopped-up fruit that was considered his lunch with a fork, eyes focused on the book in his other hand.

Moon tried to eye the title of the book, but she couldn't lean over far enough without invading Hau's space. _Oh well._

The chatter at the table was great white noise for Moon as her eyes scanned lazily across the cafeteria, an eyebrow quirking up as she spotted a kid running rather awkwardly out to the patio, headband wrapped around the kid's head.

"Was… Was that kid just Naruto running?" She muttered to herself, curiosity striking her. Hau choked on his juice box, eyes going wide.

After a few moments of coughing, which gained the table's attention, Hau turned to Moon. "What did you just say?"

Moon paled.

"N-nothing," she stuttered, looking away, blush beginning to creep up and over her cheeks.

Hau let out a hearty chuckle, patting her on the shoulder. He leaned closer to her, not quite popping her personal space bubble. "Secret's safe with me, nerd."

Moon shivered, giving the ponytailed boy a sad attempt at a glare.

* * *

Moon had reached behavioral studies before Gladion, somewhat proud of herself. She had carried her sketchbook from art with her as well, hoping she could work on her sketch between taking notes. She was trying to sketch her espeon, Akemi, as per the request of the art teacher for Friday.

The sound of shuffling feet made her glance up, eyes locking with Gladion's. Moon scooted closer to her desk, allowing him to get to his spot.

He put his binder on the desk, gaze wandering over what Moon was drawing.

"Not bad," he said, settling into his seat.

Moon mumbled a thanks, face heating up.

The class was general, the teacher going over lecture notes, students diligently scratching down what they could. At one point, the teacher went on a spiel of a story that tied in with the day's material, and Moon took that moment to work on her sketch, only partially listening.

A pen tapped against her sketchbook, causing Moon to look up from her drawing.

"Class is over," Gladion said plainly, already packed up. He brushed his fingers through his bangs. "Let's go."

 _I swear I would have heard the bell,_ she thought, stacking her books together. The two left, visiting their own lockers to move around books.

Moon closed her locker after grabbing the last of her books, the rest of what she needed tucked into her shoulder bag. _Second day of classes, and there's already homework_ , she thought grimly.

She turned, almost jumping out of her skin when she nearly collided into Gladion, who had been leaning against the lockers. The blond scoffed, turning to head to class. He took a few steps, stopped, and turned when he realized Moon wasn't following.

"Are you coming or not?"

* * *

Ilima and Kiawe were already seated when the pair entered the classroom. Moon turned in her seat after placing her books down, greeting the two with a soft voice. They smiled in reply, and Ilima snapped his fingers, apparently remembering something.

"We should get each other's phone numbers," he stated, pulling out his phone. Moon faltered, blush appearing on her face yet again.

"W-what?"

Ilima laughed. "I mean _all four of us_ ," he replied, motioning to Gladion and Kiawe. "Although, we all have each other's numbers, so we just need yours, and vice versa."

Gladion gave Ilima an incredulous look. "Why am I a part of this?"

Ilima shot him the same look back. "Are you not in two of the same classes? It would be strategic in the case either of you were sick," he said, case closed. Moon could almost imagine him shouting "Objection!" or " _Sore wa chigau yo_!". She tried to stifle a laugh at the thought.

Before Moon could react, Gladion had gently pulled her phone out of her hands, entering his contact information swiftly. In seconds he returned it, his own phone replacing hers.

The exchange of digits was made, Moon slightly flustered by the fact she had just gained three new contacts in the span of two minutes.

 _Imagine what Sun would say._ She almost groaned at the thought.

* * *

And if any of ya'll are wondering, Tsukiko and Haruki are Moon and Sun's alternate names in this fic. Real names? We just don't know. They prefer to go by Moon and Sun though.

If you can guess what characters are Moon's online friends, kudos to you lol.


	3. Styx Helix

i pretty much listened to styx helix by myth & roid and hibikase by reol on repeat the whole time i was writing this enjoy

 **kitsunescythe:** to be fair the whole group are closet nerds. This will _definitely_ get explored lol.

* * *

It had been just over two weeks since they started school, and Moon was slowly easing into her new school life.

She had started befriending the group that accepted her and Sun as their own, and was thankful for the laughter-filled days.

Everything was great, save for the days when the edgelord was in a bad mood.

Moon heard a locker slam, and glared at her own, having an idea of who it was.

 _Eight thirty in the morning on a Friday! Brighten the fuck up!_ She fumed silently, taking a long sip of her coffee.

"Hey, _Gladbag_ , maybe watch what you're doin', eh?" A blue-haired delinquent called to the blond whose fist was shaking. Moon had turned to watch the spectacle, eyebrow raised when Gladion took a step toward the delinquent.

"Don't test me," he snarled, sending the other boy into a panic, running away as fast as his legs could carry him.

A flash of something danced across Gladion's eyes, though Moon couldn't decide what. She did notice the bags under his eyes, however, even if his bangs did a good job shielding half of his face.

It was at that moment Gladion turned to Moon, undoubtedly aware of her staring. He gave her a pointed look, then entered their behavioral studies class, chains attached to his belt jingling along to his stride.

 _Wait, isn't that the wrong block order?_ Moon thought, grabbing her schedule, chest tightening from anxiety. As she stared at the block order for that Friday, she was relieved to see that they had advanced battle techniques first.

 _Oh, wait. Gladion just made a fool of himself._ Moon smirked, soft chuckles escaping past her lips. _Whoops._

After grabbing her items from her locker, she waltzed into the classroom across from it, hoping to save Gladion without him wreaking havoc.

It was still relatively early for students to wander in, so Gladion was the only one seated. Earbuds were in his ears, face staring down at his phone, arms resting on the wooden desk. Moon peered down once she got close enough, biting down on her lips to stop herself from laughing.

He was furiously playing a rhythm game, and by the looks of it, on master rank, too.

She tapped her fingers on her binder as she watched the blond hit note after note, waiting impatiently for the song to end. As soon as it did, he dropped his phone onto the desk, leaning back into his chair with a sigh.

Their eyes met.

Gladion sat bolt upright, swiping his phone and hiding it in his hoodie's pocket, a frown on his face.

Moon sighed as he ripped out one of his ear buds.

" _What_?" He growled, glaring hard enough to freeze a gengar in fright.

"Wrong class," she deadpanned, pulling out her schedule and pointing to the block order. "Now let's _hurry up_ so you're spared from any more embarrassment this fine morning."

He scoffed, standing to grab his items. Moon moved to the side, allowing him to pass, then walked beside him, playing with her own earbuds that were dangling around her neck.

"You know, you're really good at that game," Moon said, staring ahead as they continued to walk. "I can barely play on hard without screwing up most of the time."

Another scoff resounded from Gladion, though Moon caught a glimpse of a smile out of the corner of her eye. Then it disappeared, leaving Gladion looking as cranky as ever.

* * *

"Today we're going to practice with battle royals," Kukui exclaimed in front of the class. "Get into pairs of four and head down to the field!" His eyes were shining, as were the rest of the class, save for Moon and Gladion.

 _He doesn't even look like he wants to be here today,_ Moon mused, automatically fitting herself in between Ilima and Kiawe. Gladion hadn't even moved from his seat as the class began to make their way to the field, causing Moon to sigh once again.

She walked back to Gladion, hands on her hips. "C'mon, we're battling." He gave her a half-hearted glare in reply to her order, though after a moment gave in and stood.

He passed her. "This might do me some good, I guess."

Moon walked with the boys, excited to see who would be using what. It would be her first time partaking in a battle royal, too, nervous butterfree beginning to fly about in her stomach.

Their group was second, Moon standing at one corner, Ilima off to the left, Kiawe the right, and Gladion opposite her.

They all released their pokemon at the same time – mareanie, gumshoos, turtonator and umbreon, respectively. Ilima look surprised; Kiawe punched his fists together.

"I would have sworn you'd go for your espeon!" Ilima called, causing Moon to laugh in reply.

"I have no idea what I'm doing!"

"Should you really be saying that?" Kiawe asked, his turtonator releasing a small burst of embers.

"Let's get started, already," Gladion groaned, hand resting against his temple.

Professor Kukui waved his hand down after explaining the rules – the first pokemon down would be the loser, since most students only had one or two pokemon on them. The class cheered, excited for the battles.

Gladion smirked, calling out the first move of the battle, posing dramatically. "Shadow, psychic on the mareanie!"

Moon really didn't know what to make of the edgelord in that moment, choosing to ignore his antics for the time being. "Dodge, Hemlock; scald on turtonator!" Her mareanie managed to dodge the psychic blast just in time, aiming a blast of water at the turtonator who was distracted by Ilima's gumshoos.

Another scoff left Gladion's lips, eyes narrowed. "Fine; bite on gumshoos." Turtonator had released a flamethrower on gumshoos just before, lowering its health dramatically.

Umbreon sunk its fangs into the normal type, letting it fall from exhaustion soon after.

Kukui declared Gladion the winner, and the four returned their pokemon to their balls. Moon pouted, somewhat dismayed at how fast the battle was.

As the group walked back to the rest of the students, another group heading up the main part of the field, Moon watched as Kiawe pat Gladion on the shoulder. "Nice steal there, bud!"

Gladion grumbled a 'thanks', sitting down on the grass. His chin rested on his knees, eyes closed as a breeze passed. Moon knew the rest of the class would be used to observe the other battles, and so she pulled out her phone, hoping to pass the time with the song she had been playing on repeat the last week.

Sometimes music does that to you, y'know.

She laid down on the grass, enjoying the breeze that countered the sun's rays. Moon looked over to Gladion, whose nose was in a book yet again.

She squinted at the title. _Something to do with business?_ She'd never take him for the business-type persona.

It almost seemed out of character.

* * *

Lunch was the most exciting part of the school day, since the whole group was together.

Or generally, anyway.

Moon peered around the table, counting faces, naming names.

 _Where's Gladion?_

The seat across from her had been taken over by Mina, whom Moon shared art with. The two hadn't spoken often to one another, but Mina was an interesting art kid.

Moon voiced her concerns to Lillie, who only shrugged. "Sometimes he goes to the library to work on homework, if that helps any," she offered.

Moon hummed, wondering if he would get anything accomplished with the mood he was in. She sat at the table for a few more minutes before excusing herself, letting her curiosity get to the better of her.

The library was relatively close by; though, it was its own building, so students only frequented it if they had to. Most students preferred to go somewhere off grounds on their lunch, after all.

Moon entered the building, admiring the towering bookcases. She sneezed from the dust and filtered sunlight, squinting at the hanging spider plants in disdain. _How does Gladion sit in this place without dying from allergies?_

The librarian wasn't even in; the warmly coloured building was desolate, save for the soft sound of pages flipping in the distance. Moon moved towards the sound, weaving through rows of bookcases. Near the back was a sitting area, a skylight filtering the midday sun through, dust particles floating along lazily. Gladion was sitting at the back, head bent forward and held in his hands.

Moon stepped to the side, shielding herself with a bookcase. She peered over the edge just enough to catch his shoulders shake. He moved a hand, slamming the book shut that was in front of him, pushing it as far away from him as possible.

An audible sob escaped his throat, hand flying to his mouth, covering it. His visible eye was wide with shock, though his expression eased as his hand fell back to the table.

Moon pulled back, hiding herself from his field of view.

She had no idea what to do.

Did she go up to him?

Did she try to leave?

He obviously knew _someone else_ was there. Moon bit down her lip.

 _It's like he's having a panic attack or something._

A loud thud sounded in the nearly vacant building, coming from the direction Gladion was.

Moon eased her way around the bookcase, heart stopping as she saw the slumped form of Gladion on the ground.

 _Oh, Arceus. What the fuck._

Her heart did an unnatural skip, constricting her chest. _Oh no._ She moved forward, in what felt like years, until she stared down at the blond.

He had fallen right off the chair, and Moon was thankful that he hadn't hit his head.

She sat him up gently, hoping she could rouse him quickly enough. _I should have turned him on his side,_ she thought after, mentally noting that she would if he didn't regain consciousness any time soon. She saw his backpack hanging on the chair, and the full water bottle sitting in the side pouch. Relief washed over her, knowing he would probably need it.

Gently, Moon shook Gladion's shoulders, kneeling in front of the boy. He shifted, eyes sluggishly opening. Realization struck him, and he moved to push her away, though Moon grabbed his wrist before he could.

"Stop," she ordered, switching hands so she could reach for his water bottle with the newly free one. She forced it into his hand, sigh escaping her lips.

"Panic attack, right?" She asked gently, watching as Gladion took a sip of water, eyes still half-closed.

"I hyperventilated. It happens sometimes," he replied after a long moment, voice slow and calculated. "Don't tell anyone. Especially Lillie."

Moon frowned in confusion, though she obliged. "Don't you know any breathing exercises?" She moved back slightly, sitting on the balls of her feet, knees forward. Gladion glared at her.

"That sounds ridiculous, honestly," he muttered, running his hand through his bangs. A hiss slipped through his teeth, agitation kicking in. "Hand me my backpack."

Moon grabbed it, dropping it in the boy's lap before sitting in front of him again. He dug through the contents until he found a red barrette, pushing his bangs in place and running it through them, clipping it to hold them in place.

 _What the heck. That's almost cute,_ Moon thought, mentally slapping herself after.

He moved the backpack to his side and crossed his arms, pointed look directed at Moon once again. "What do you even know about these attacks?"

Moon moved to sit cross-legged, returning the look. "It's almost like students can get anxiety from being overstressed, or something," she replied sarcastically. "Breathing exercises help slow your heartbeat. It helps with the attack as well as the hyperventilation."

She took her time explaining it, making Gladion attempt the exercise once or twice. He glared the whole time, though he would admit to himself later it was helpful.

* * *

The second half of the day went by quickly for Moon, though she was still curious as to what had worked up Gladion. She stopped Ilima in the hallway, his class not too far from her own art class.

"Oh, Moon," Ilima greeted the girl, bemused at her expression. It was an odd mixture of worry and bewilderment, though he couldn't pinpoint who would give her that look.

Nope, not at all.

She walked beside him as they travelled to his locker. "Do you know anything about Gladion's… mood swings, for lack of a better word?"

He had half the urge to roll his eyes. "You seem to be rather keen on our local edgelord," he replied, evading the question with far less grace than what generally emitted from him. "Is there a particular reason for that?"

Moon pouted. "Not really. He's just more distant than everyone else –"

"– So you find that intriguing?" Ilima finished, eyes narrowed.

"I relate to it," Moon retorted, arms crossed across her chest, her own eyes narrowed. A soft laugh escaped from Ilima, waving a hand in front of his face in mock-defeat.

"No need to be so defensive," he said, stopping as they reached his own locker. "To answer your question, no one knows why he gets like that. Not even Lillie."

Moon released a sigh.

Of course.

 _Yeah, yeah, he's nice, but he also won't open up to anyone_ , she thought, biting the inside of her cheek.

"Besides," Ilima added on, "If you relate to his distancing nature, should you not understand part of where he comes from?"

Moon's heart skipped a beat, the idea never really occurring to her. _Mind you, I don't think he's been ostracized_.

"Thanks, Ilima," she muttered, walking away.

* * *

That night, Moon laid on her bed, Akemi sleeping beside her in the crook of her arm. Moon scrolled through her social media lifelessly, faltering when her phone almost slipped out of her hand and onto her face.

Akemi mewled softly, though she didn't move.

A sigh escaped the girl, arm falling onto the bed. It was weird, how she was still concerned over how Gladion was doing.

She squinted up at her wall. _Mind you, if it were Lillie or Mallow, I probably would have acted the same way_ , she reasoned to herself.

Her text notification sound bounced along the walls of her room, and Moon groaned, pulling the phone back toward her face.

A single text, from Lillie, asking if she wanted to hang out with the group tomorrow.

A smile spread across Moon's face. Perhaps spending more time with the group would ease her worries.

* * *

*p4 hiimdaisy comic dub voice* plot plot plot plot plot-


	4. Surf

so we have more pairings besides lonashipping but if that wasn't obvious then ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

 **kitsunescythe:** Tbh I'm more a fan of FFA's myself haha. Also, look! Nerd chapter!

* * *

Moon stretched, enjoying the breeze that cooled her boiling skin. It was Saturday, and a hot record temperature for early February. She had decided to don a black skirt along with a flowery, loose yellow blouse for the day, mostly due to the excitement of hanging out with Lillie and a few others today.

She was only partially dejected when it turned out it would just be them, Sun and Hau.

They were outside the malasada shop in Hau'oli, awaiting Hau and Lillie eagerly. Sun sat on the stone grass boarder, Moon standing under a tree, fanning herself.

Moments later, Sun seemed to have spotted them, jumping up and waving his arm vigorously. Moon followed his gaze, seeing the two walking beside each other, Lillie in her white attire, making her appear almost doll-like, and Hau in his black t-shirt and orange shorts, waving back.

Moon walked over to greet them, smile on her face.

The group of four walked into the malasada shop, Hau racing to the counter to order for everyone, humming a faintly familiar song.

They took their seats in a booth, Lillie beside Moon.

"So, what all did you two want to do today besides eat malasadas?" Lillie asked, hands folded one over the other, chin resting on them.

Hau had hurried to the table, plate full of fresh malasadas. "I need to pick up a game," he said cheekily, a wide grin planted on his face as he sat next to Sun.

"Me, too, actually," Sun added, hitting Hau playfully with his elbow. "What were you thinking of getting?"

" _Breath of the Wild_ ," Hau said, cheeky grin still in place.

"Well I'm getting _Persona 5_."

The boys began to bicker over which was the better game, and Moon rolled her eyes. She wouldn't mind playing either, though she already had a ton of games on hold at home.

"Well, while they're doing that, we could go look at clothes?" Lillie suggested to Moon, head turned to face her. Moon shrugged.

"Yeah, sounds good to me."

* * *

It's not like the mall was _extremely_ far away from the malasada shop, but for Moon it felt like she was walking straight up Wela volcano. She tugged at the collar of her shirt as they walked along the sidewalk in some attempt at creating airflow, a concerned Lillie beside her.

"Perhaps you should invest in an airy dress," she said, a slightly exasperated look on her face. Moon only grimaced in reply.

"As long as it's not hot pink," Moon replied.

Lillie laughed, causing Hau to turn around, curiosity shining in his eyes. "What's so funny?" He asked, smirk on his face.

"Nothing much," replied Lillie, waving her hand dismissively. Hau turned back around, humming the same song from earlier.

Moon furrowed her brows, trying to place the tune. As soon as the tune became faster paced, the colour drained from her face in realization.

 _Why is he humming Cruel Angel's Thesis? Oh, my Arceus_.

It seemed Sun had caught on too, as he began to sing along when Hau hit the chorus. Horribly.

Moon hid her face in her hands, cheeks a deep red in embarrassment. Lillie's own brows were furrowed. "Do you know what this is from, Moon?"

"I wish I didn't," she grumbled in reply.

Another boisterous laugh from Hau echoed along the street, causing a few passersby to look in their direction.

"Kill me," Moon whispered, moving closer to Lillie to hide herself. The blond pat her back gently.

"Let the boys have their fun."

* * *

The group had split, Hau and Sun on a mission to find their game store in the adequately sized mall. Like most buildings in Alola, it had open walkways, with no real walls barring it from the rest of the city, or the nature that surrounded it.

Lillie and Moon entered the first clothing store they saw – it was full of pastels and whites, making Moon feel almost out of place.

Lillie commented on a few of the dresses, holding them out for Moon, but the dark-haired girl would wave her hands in her face, repeating the same mantra of "I don't think that really suits me".

After the fifth or so attempt, Lillie pouted, eyes narrowing in a way that reminded Moon of Gladion. "Well, maybe we should try somewhere else? We're getting you a dress whether you like it or _not_."

A look of horror crossed Moon's face at Lillie's tone, and then she nodded furiously. Better to keep the princess pleased, she supposed.

As Moon followed Lillie along the length of the mall, she couldn't help but smile to herself. _They're more alike than I thought, aren't they?_

* * *

A bag of clothes on each arm later, the group of four reunited at the fountain in the middle of the mall. Hau and Sun each had their own bags as well, and each of their hands held an ice cream cone. Moon took the strawberry flavoured one from Sun, watching curiously as Hau stepped up to Lillie with the smallest hint of nervousness, offering her an ice cream cone. When she accepted, his smile absolutely beamed, eyes twinkling.

 _Ohohoho,_ Moon thought, mischievous smirk pulling at the edges of her mouth. The look faded quickly as she noticed Hau's hand shaking, leading to the fall of the ice cream.

Against Lillie's dress.

 _Smooth move._ Moon frowned as Hau began to apologize profusely to Lillie, who laughed it off. "It gives me a good excuse to drop my stuff off at home," she reasoned, trying to calm down the frantic boy.

Moon stepped in, sighing inwardly. "Lillie and I will go to her house, and you two can head back to ours, okay?" She told Sun and Hau, glancing toward her brother, hoping he would understand what just happened.

Sun nodded, grabbing Hau by the shoulder. "No problem! Let's get going, _Hau_. See you two in a bit!" With than, Sun pulled Hau forward, starting the walk back to the house.

Moon turned to Lillie. "Your place isn't too far away, is it?" The blond shook her head side to side.

"It's rather close to the school, actually."

* * *

Moon wouldn't have the _gall_ to call it a house.

It towered, even though it seemed to only be three storeys high. The white stone glittered in the sunlight, almost blinding her as she gazed upon the mansion.

"This isn't even your _real_ house?"

"It's temporary whilst brother and I are at school," Lillie explained, pushing open the grand entrance door. "Mother's work is at Aether Paradise, so we don't see her often."

She noticed Moon standing there, dumbfounded. "Oh, come _inside_ , Moon. It's not going to swallow you whole."

As Moon inched forward, a sound played from Lillie's white shoulder bag, a blush dusting her cheeks as she dug through it to find her phone.

"E-excuse me," she mumbled, swiping to unlock the device. Another familiar tune filled the air as Lillie's blush darkened, and Moon stood, bewildered.

"Your brother plays Love Live. You play Mystic Messenger. _Arceus_ ," she commented jokingly, hands on her hips, playful smile dancing across her features.

Lillie returned the gesture. "I see you're more involved with this side of pop culture than you let on." She giggled, leaving to change.

Moon shrugged to herself, smile still present as she leaned against the pristine wall of the foyer. She pulled out her phone, looking through it absentmindedly.

Only a minute or so passed before she heard footsteps approach from down the hall, not expecting Lillie to have finished changing – and saving her dress – yet. She looked up, heart jumping to her throat in surprise as she saw Gladion, who looked equally as shocked.

"Hi," she said blankly, noting the pulled back bangs and dark frames resting on his nose. He was dressed in a simple black t-shirt and red shorts, likely not expecting to run into anyone other than Lillie.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, one hand on his hip, other hand shielding the eye that was normally covered by bangs.

"Why do you make weird poses like some _chuunibyou_?" Moon countered, standing upright, eyes sparkling in amusement. He looked absolutely appalled by the suggestion.

"I'm not a _chuuni_ ," he replied, frowning as he walked closer to the girl.

" _You know what it means_ ," she said, slowly enunciating each word to prove her point, smirk painting her lips. And then the expression dropped, her usual soft smile taking its place. "Hau accidentally spilt ice cream on Lillie's dress, so she's changing before we go back to probably watch him and Sun play video games." She ended the sentence with a shrug.

The blond before her rolled his eyes. "How did he manage that?"

Moon lowered her voice. "I believe sweet Hau has a crush on your sister," she mused, tapping her chin as if in thought, one eye partially closed. The other was trained on Gladion, watching the multitude of expressions shift on his face.

"No way in hell." His voice was miffed, baffled expression aimed at Moon.

"I mean, it's only a guess based on one witnessed interaction, so don't get too caught up in it," she said, shrugging her shoulders once again. Gladion glared at her, ready to say something else, though the sound of light footsteps stopped him.

"Oh?" Moon peered around the boy, seeing Lillie dressed in another white dress, though this one had a lace design on it. "Gladion, did you want to come with us to Moon's?" Lillie asked innocently, head tiled to the side.

His glance raced between the two girls, before finally settling on his sister. "Actually, that's an alright idea. I'll be right back."

Moon watched him leave down the hall Lillie had come from. _What, does he have to make sure Lillie isn't going to get hit on or something?_

It didn't feel like long until Gladion came back, as Lillie and Moon were engrossed in a conversation about dating sims. He had switched out the shorts for black skinny jeans, and a dark red hoodie hung over his frame, unzipped, his hands stuffed in its pockets.

"Good to go?" He asked the girls, sending a breath of air towards his bangs, letting them dance briefly before they fell back into place over his eye. Moon rolled her eyes, first to head out the door.

* * *

She was also the first to open the door to their house, releasing her pokemon. The others followed suit, pokemon taking up most of the kitchen, Moon staring blankly once again.

"Hau, is that a raichu?" She asked, pointing to the floating rodent who giggled, sitting on its own levitating tail.

"Yep! Puka is an Alolan raichu." He patted his partner affectionately, the raichu cooing in delight.

Sun moved to the living room, eager to get his game ready to go, his meowth following him dutifully. Hau dug through his backpack as he followed behind, pulling out his Switch.

Sun's vulpix, on the other hand, stared at the white variant before it. They sniffed at each other, cooing. "Looks like Shiron has a new friend," Lillie said, giggling.

Moon's gaze drifted downward, watching as Akemi interacted with Gladion's umbreon. They batted at each other playfully, seeming to get along.

She shrugged, inviting the siblings into the living room. As Lillie moved ahead of them, Moon stopped Gladion, giving him a pointed look.

"No interfering," she said firmly. "I think it's cute."

In reply, Gladion made a gagging sound, sticking his index finger in his mouth, earning a playful jab on the shoulder from Moon.

"I'm just here to _observe_ ," he said, pulling out his phone and walking ahead. "What's your wifi password?"

He took a seat on the recliner, eying Hau as he sat beside Lillie. Moon rolled her eyes once again, sitting beside Lillie and shooting Gladion a look that pointedly stated, "get over it". She grabbed the paper that had the wifi password off the coffee table, crumbling it into a ball before tossing it at him.

It hit him squarely on the head.

"You're welcome," Moon said smugly.

The rest of the day was rather entertaining, though. Between her and Sun, they had a few different bowls of snacks set out on the coffee table, and Moon had offered to grab drinks for everyone a few times, attempting to act like a decent host.

They watched as Sun whined over cutscenes, and laughed at how Hau had managed to kill himself in-game over and over. Even Gladion had let loose a snicker or two, making Moon and Lillie smile. Lillie had stolen the wifi as well, keeping up with her social media pages in between talking to Moon about various topics, Hau joining in briefly now and again.

Moon was keenly aware of how Hau had moved closer to Lillie throughout the evening, showing her different parts of the game he was playing. Every time he made Lillie laugh, Gladion sent a glare Hau's way, though it didn't deter him any.

Moon grinned. _Small victories. Go Hau!_

The sun was beginning to set when Hau and the blond siblings decided it would be a good time to head out, not wanting to overextend their welcome.

Lillie had hung back, leaning over to Moon. "I'm glad Gladion actually wanted to come out today," she said gently, looking to the girl beside her. "I haven't heard him laugh in a few months."

Moon's cheeks warmed considerably. _She doesn't think it's because of me, does she?_ _Oh, my gosh, she totally does. You poor, oblivious girl._

"Uh, yeah," Moon stammered, not knowing what to say. "It was nice to hang out with all of you, though."

A knowing smile crossed Lillie's features, tugging at the corners of her lips until it warped into a smirk. She leaned in closer to Moon, whispering, "You don't _like_ my brother at all, do you?"

Moon deadpanned, an incredulous look on her face. Lillie giggled, skipping out the door.

"See you later!"

Moon reached her hand out, wanting to tell Lillie she had the wrong idea, but her voice caught in her throat, and her arm fell limply to her side.

"Fuck," she groaned, burying her head in her hands.

Sun came to stand beside her, patting her on the shoulder affectionately. "Sounds like you just got played by your own game, my dude."

* * *

needless to say this was an actual thing I sent cindercate while I was writing this chapter:

"Why do you make weird poses like some _chuunibyou_?" Moon countered, standing upright, eyes sparkling in amusement. He looked absolutely appalled by the suggestion.

"I'm not a _chuuni_ ," he replied, frowning as he walked closer to the girl.

(and then he pushed her up against the wall and they made out the end bye)


	5. Song of Storms

Ya'll  
I wrote most of this yesterday

Sorry it's been a while but I have up to chapter seven? planned out kinda so yeah

As always, thanks for the reviews, guys! You keep me going~

* * *

"Hugh just won't let it go!" A voice wailed over the chat, causing Moon to let a loose a giggle. She was huddled in her computer chair, blanket wrapped around her form, Akemi on her lap. It was a rainy, dreary Sunday, and Moon was planning to ignore everything, save her pokemon and online friends.

Her monitors were the only things that lit up the dark room, the single vanilla scented candle on her dresser providing more scent than light. She took a sip of coffee, for once of the hot variety, before replying. "Rosa, if you kissed him, it would probably calm him down."

A feminine chortle rang out from Moon's speakers as Rosa groaned. "He could probably use it," the other voice joked.

"Shut up, Serena," Rosa whined. "Besides, he's a little hardcore. And rage-y," she added on.

"Who's rage-y?" Another voice, deeper in tone, asked after a soft beep signalled they had joined the chat.

"Oh, Keitia," Moon greeted, petting her espeon absentmindedly, "Rosa's just crying over how Hugh is giving her a hard time."

"With what?" He asked, tone inflection raising ever so slightly at the end.

"I apparently don't train my pokemon to _his_ standards, so he's _helping_ me make a new routine," Rosa replied, voice grating over the chat.

Topics were flung around for a few moments, and then the discussion shifted to Moon.

"So how's the edgelord?" Serena asked cheekily. Typing could faintly be heard in the background; she was probably multitasking between the group chat and her homework.

"Well, he has an umbreon named Shadow, and him and his sister are pretty much rich, so that's something," Moon murmured, squirming around in her chair to find a more comfortable position. Akemi jumped off her lap to find somewhere else to lay down, causing Moon to whine out a low "nooo Akemi come back".

A series of coughs was heard over the chat, making Moon cringe slightly.

"Sorry," Keitia's hoarse voice called out after he subdued the coughing fit. "Water went down the windpipe."

Laughter rose from Rosa's end. "What a nerd."

Moon shrugged and, realizing no one could see her gesture anyway, began talking about her other classmates.

"Worse part is," she backtracked after a few moments, "I realized our sunshine bomb had a crush on edgelord's sister, but now she thinks _I_ like _her brother_." It was her turn to wail, and so she did, although the only reply she got was a chorus of laughter. Moon took another sip of her coffee, brows furrowed. "Thanks, guys."

The chat regained its course, Rosa sending outdated memes to the chat and guffawing over them. Moon continued to speak to the group, and at one point, another member joined the voice chat, so the conversation veered towards competitive battling.

A whistle blew through the chat, coming from Rosa's end. "God, Tsukiko, I didn't realize you were such a battle nerd." Moon rolled her eyes.

"Oh, hush."

A door slam diverted her attention, brows furrowed once more. "Hold on, guys, I think my brother's home," Moon told the chat before silencing her mic.

She clawed her way out of her chair, sore after sitting in one spot for so long. The girl heaved a sigh, willing her legs toward the door to see what her brother was up to. Her door creaked open, and she meandered down the stairs, heart almost stopping as a familiar pink-haired boy came into view.

"Ilima?" Moon asked, one hand on the stair's railing, the other still clutching the blanket wrapped around her. The boy chuckled, waving his hand.

"Hello, Moon. Your brother invited me over," Ilima said cheerily, eyes and toothy smile both shining bright.

Sun came into view from the kitchen, handing a can of iced tea to Ilima. He looked up at his sister, eyes squinting as he held back laughter.

"Your hair looks like a rattata's nest," he commented dryly, gesturing with his free hand. Moon pouted.

"It's Sunday. Fight me."

"Why don't you come join us? We were going to play _Mario Kart_ ," Ilima offered, eyes trailing over to look at Sun.

Moon hummed, a grin slowly spreading across her face. "Yeah, sure! Give me a moment." She turned and hurried up the stairs, flying back into her room.

Typing a quick goodbye message into the chat, she bit down on her lip. _Honestly, Ilima is too nice sometimes_. She draped her blanket over her chair and left her room.

* * *

Moon sat on the floor, controller in hand as she stared up at the TV screen. They were on track number ten, or so, though she couldn't quite remember. Ilima was in the lead, her in second.

Sun held the Wii-U controller tightly, curses leaving his mouth in a long stream. Ilima would almost always end up hitting him with a blue shell as soon as Sun got to first, letting his anger flair. Ilima would always say sorry after, although his shit-eating grin contradicted whatever apology he was trying to get across.

Moon couldn't help but find his competitive side attractive. Certainly, he could be a little to-the-point sometimes, but he was also a voice of reason for the whole group, which levelled out his personality rather well.

Noting his good traits, a faint heat crept up Moon's face, and she bit down on her lip once she realized she was blushing from her thoughts. _Oh, no._

Distracted, she lost her second place standing to Sun, who leapt to the air and hollered, waving the controller around in glee.

Ilima congratulated Sun, their conversation changing to something that brought both their eyes alight, but Moon was too busy fighting her own mind to really notice. Head still in the clouds, she stood, uttering a soft "I'm gonna go back upstairs" before leaving.

The bedroom door closed behind her, and she was wrapped in darkness. Fumbling for her phone, she used its light to find her way back to her desk, waking her computer from sleep mode.

She unmuted her mic, noting a few people were still online.

"Guys," she half whispered, gaining their attention.

"Oh hey, you're back!" Rosa cheered. "How'd it go?"

"Cute boy," Moon mumbled in reply, bringing her knees up to her chin, heat clouding over her face once again. "There's a cute boy," she said again, a little louder for the group to hear.

"Oh, gosh, who?" Serena asked, interest obviously piqued.

"Just," Moon stalled, thinking about the best way to form her sentence. "My brother was hanging out with him today but he came over and – shit. I thought before that he was cute, but _he's cute_."

"Oh, no," Rosa cooed, "Keitia, did you _hear that_?"

"Good luck with your emotions," he replied dryly, adding on a quick "I have to go" before signing off.

Rosa blew a raspberry. "Gosh, he seems so fun deprived sometimes. He doesn't even _laugh at my memes_."

Moon laughed softly. "I mean, at least some of us do?"

* * *

Monday was another rainy day, and Moon was overjoyed. She threw on her favourite purple hoodie, pulled on her dark skinny jeans and whipped out her triforce-coated socks.

She was in her glory, being able to dress how she used to in Kanto.

She met Sun at the bottom of the stairs, also wearing jeans and a hoodie. His backpack was already slung over one shoulder, though he held out Moon's bag to her.

"No coffee this morning?" He asked, an eyebrow raised. Moon hissed out a curse.

"I'll just get some at lunch, I guess," she sighed, heading out the door as she threw her bag's strap over her head.

* * *

She should have grabbed coffee before they left.

Moon felt insanely sluggish throughout her first two classes, and had almost fallen asleep in both.

As she sorted through her items at her locker, she almost convinced herself to buy an energy drink.

Almost.

It was probably better for everyone if she didn't, though.

Sighing, she closed and locked her locker, tired eyes looking down the hall toward the cafeteria. Maybe she could convince someone to go to the convenience store with her.

As she entered the cafeteria, she was surprised to see her usual spot taken. Upon closer inspection, there was a free seat next to Gladion, and Moon made the connection. _Lillie, not today, please_ , she pleaded in her head, sitting down next to him.

And then she dropped her head to the table, resting it on one of her arms.

"Someone should come get coffee with me," she whined, eyes wandering over the people she could see. Her gaze rested on Ilima, who was busy talking to Sun, and she let out a sigh, still not over her newly-formed crush.

Gladion looked over at her, resting his book on the table. He looked as if he was about to speak, but stopped, mouth forming a small "o". He turned away from her, picking his book back up.

It was almost cute, Moon thought idly, though she was confused as to why he didn't say anything.

Tired and slightly out of her usual state of being, she poked the blond boy, staring expectantly at him. "Come get coffee with me. I'll pay," she moaned.

Across from Moon, Lillie was snickering into her hand, trying to not make her enjoyment obvious.

Gladion's eyes snapped toward his sister for a moment, then lowered to Moon, locking their gazes. He sighed, closing his book, a faint dusting of red coating his cheeks.

"Let's go."

Both Lillie and Moon's eyes widened, not expecting him to actually agree. Moon shook off the shock first, though, excited about getting some caffeine in her veins. With what energy she had remaining, she pushed herself from the table. Gladion had already started walking, book tucked under his arm.

She raced after him, finally catching up as they left the building. The rain had lightened up somewhat, but the sky was still a mess of gray clouds, and the air was still cool; a slight breeze caused the two to shiver. Moon stuffed her hands in the arms of her hoodie, holding on to her arms for added warmth.

"I didn't think it would get so cold here," she mused, walking beside Gladion as they cut through the forest, following a dirt trail. Moon wasn't certain where they were heading – she would have gone to the convenience store, and it was in the opposite direction.

"There's a café nearby." As if reading Moon's mind, Gladion answered her unvoiced question, glancing at her momentarily, and then his eyes refocused ahead of them. "And yeah, it gets like this sometimes." A silence fell between them; though not uncomfortable, it let Moon's mind wander.

Moon had heard from Mallow that Gladion had been eerily quiet today – and calm. If he was in a bad mood, he would have lashed out at someone by now. But he hadn't, which made Moon curious. Perhaps something was on his mind?

It's not like she _wanted_ to stick her nose into his business all the time; she just had an innate need to _know_ things.

And maybe, just maybe, she wanted to try and get closer to the boy beside her. When he had joined them at their house that day, he seemed to have had fun.

And _Mew_ knows that the poor boy probably needed more laughs in his life.

She decided to voice her concerns just as the dirt trail ended, coming out to a sidewalk. "Something on your mind?" She asked, looking over at him.

Caught off guard, Gladion tripped forward, though he caught himself, arms splayed out on either side of him, face red. He brought a fist to his mouth and coughed, and in embarrassment, began walking a tad faster.

"I'm fine," he huffed, looking away from Moon.

The girl quirked a brow in response, aware of how he wouldn't look at her for more than a few seconds. Something was _definitely_ up. She let it go for the moment, though, mind losing focus as the easily noticeable café came into view.

"What did you want, Gladion?" She asked, a slight spring in her step.

"I don't need anything," he said with a sigh, pushing his hands further into the pockets of his hoodie.

Moon scoffed. "Bullshit. What do you want?"

Gladion's eyes narrowed, and then his expression relaxed, a soft sigh escaping his lips in defeat. "Earl grey is fine."

"Tea?" Moon asked, head tilted to the side. Her gaze slid from Gladion to the café, amazed at how modern it looked. It was a step above Starbucks, alright.

"What's wrong with liking tea?" He asked, pulling open the door to the café, letting Moon go through first, following her after. She shrugged her shoulders in reply, finding her place in the line.

"I just didn't take you for a tea person."

"It's better than coffee," he replied.

"Wrong."

* * *

Before Moon knew it, the end of the school day had come in screaming.

And that's almost what Moon felt like doing, to boot.

Gladion had been quiet the whole walk back to the school, and quiet during both of their afternoon classes, as well. He appeared to be lost in thought, as far as Moon could tell, since he fiddled with his pen more than he used it to take notes.

The constant tapping of pen to desk nearly drove her crazy.

It didn't take her long to gather her items at her locker, intent on hurrying to catch Gladion before he left.

She whirled around after locking it, easing slightly when her eyes locked onto the blonde's form. She crossed the hall and leaned against the lockers next to his, staring at him.

"You really look like you need to talk to someone," she commented dryly. Gladion jumped in surprise, hand griping the door of his locker tightly.

" _Arceus_ ," he hissed, looking at Moon quickly, then turning away. "I'm _fine_ , Moon." His voice was laced with frustration, eyes narrowed to points, glaring at his locker instead of the girl beside him.

"You're not looking at me," she said finally, pointing out the obvious. "You haven't for more than a few seconds all day today."

A huff, and Gladion closed his locker gently, hand shaking slightly as he moved to lock it.

Moon bit down on her lip, brain cycling through her thoughts. "Lillie didn't tell you something dumb, did she?"

Another huff left the boy. "No, it's not that." Biting down on his own lips, he turned to fully face Moon, leaning against his own locker. "But, I mean, it would be cool if you stopped calling me an edgelord in the chat. I don't think I'm _that_ bad."

* * *

was it obvious

i bet it was


	6. Drops

whats up everybody its cr1TiKaL

no jk hi guys sorry I haven't updated in a while here's a 3.6k chapter b/c of that

and omfg thank you for the reviews. They keep me going in these dark times I swear.

* * *

Moon's heart had stopped. At least, that's what she could equate to the 'pang' she felt, breath hitching in her throat. What Gladion said had made no sense what-so-ever.

What chat? She never called him an edgelord except when she was talking to Serena and Rosa.

And Keitia.

Gears began to churn, ever so slowly, as her mind brought the pieces together.

 _Oh, is Gladion Keitia?_

That seemed to be the only plausible situation.

But that also meant –

 _Oh, Arceus. He knows about my crush on Ilima_.

The haze surrounding her thoughts had dropped, reforming into a boulder that fell to the pit of her stomach, causing her heart to clench on the way down.

"Keitia?" She spoke softly, eyes wide, standing straight, though balancing herself by pushing a hand on to the lockers beside her. Her cheeks had turned red, and the warmth had furthered her embarrassment.

"That's generally what I go by online, yes," Gladion replied before her. He was still leaning against his own locker, eyes cast downward and arms crossed. His brows creased, and then he gazed back toward Moon. "Is _Tsukiko_ your real name, then, or?"

 _Ahh, he pronounced it properly._

Her heart restarted, the boulder lodged in her stomach dissipating into dust. "Technically, yeah, though only mom calls me that," she answered, averting his gaze.

They stood like that for a few moments, silence falling between them, their bubble distancing them from the crowd of students racing to get out of the school and enjoy the rest of their day. Moon fiddled with her shoulder bag, Gladion tapped his fingers on his arm.

Now what were they to do?

They averted their gazes, looking everywhere but at each other.

Finally, Moon made to grab her phone and earphones, fumbling with the tied-up cord.

"You _are_ a bit of an edgelord, you know," she said sheepishly, staring over Gladion's shoulder, small smile on her lips. "See you tomorrow."

She turned and left, unaware of the boy's own smile that reached his eyes as he watched her leave.

* * *

The rest of the week was hectic for Moon, as well as most of her peers. Tests had decided to spring up out of nowhere, and so everyone had to buckle down and pray they would past the first of many.

She spent the first two nights pouring over the covered chapters for her history class, hair tied back in a bun, legs crossed as she sat in her computer chair, attempting to look away from the distracting screens.

The night after that, she attempted to study for behavioural studies. Feeling lost in the behavioural differences of Kantonian and Alolan vulpix (odd, considering she'd been around them enough), she looked to the chat, noting that _Keitia_ was online.

She hummed and hawed, mouse hovering over the buttons next to his icon.

It was an opportune time for Akemi to jump onto the computer desk, causing Moon to click on the "call" button.

 _Fuck._

It rang a loud, almost shrill sound to Moon. Her chest tightened, though she wasn't certain why.

It's not like she hadn't really talked to Gladion since Monday, or anything.

"What is it, Moon?" His voice floated over the chat, call connected. Moon almost choked, startled that he had answered.

She took a breath. "I'm having trouble with behavioural studies," she said quietly, blush rising to her cheeks. "What about you?"

A "tsk" came from the other end, and then the shuffling of pages. "I'm fine. What part do you need help with?"

Without meaning to, they spent the evening going over terms for the test, questioning each other back and forth late into the night.

* * *

Moon was elated when Friday rolled around. She didn't want to have to worry about her tests over the weekend, figuring studying final bits and pieces of what she needed tonight would suffice. As she entered history and took her seat, Ilima and the girls behind them chattered excitedly.

"Moon, get a load of this!" Mallow called, tapping on her shoulder. Moon turned to face the three of them, eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"What is it?"

"Seems like the students in grade ten and eleven are going on a field trip!" She replied cheerfully, arm slung around Lillie's shoulders, who laughed softly at her enthusiasm.

Moon hummed. "Where to?"

"Dunno yet."

"It sounds like it will be exciting, though," Lillie commented, eyes shining. "Maybe we'll get to go to one of the other islands! Akala would be amazing!"

"I'd love to go to the Battle Tree, myself," Ilima said, smiling softly.

The bell rang, signalling the start of class. Moon and Ilima turned back around in their seats, facing the front, eyeballing the teacher with papers in hand.

"So, class," he began, "It seems we may be going on a field trip in a few weeks."

* * *

Two weeks passed in a blur. Moon was relieved after the first, having to not look at tests for another month or so if she were lucky. Excitement began to bubble up in her after that, and nights became more and more sleepless as the date of the field trip approached.

Sun was super excited as well, having planned out what outfits he would bring as soon as he heard the news. The weather app on his phone now held a section for Malie City, where they would be visiting. It seemed to be hotter, on average, than Hau'oli, so he wanted to be prepared.

And then the day finally came – everyone was required to meet at the marina by six am sharp, and that was one thing Moon wasn't looking forward to.

She didn't get any sleep at all the night before.

Coffee in hand, clefairy backpack and side bag over her shoulders, her and Sun waved goodbye to their mother and left. Sun had a very noticeable spring in his step, whereas Moon trudged along, gripping her coffee for dear life.

Sometimes she wondered how they were related.

They met the large mass of students at the docks. Most carried backpacks with them, or duffle bags, but as Moon's eyes scanned the crowed and landed on Lillie, she was surprised to see her with fancy looking wheeled luggage.

And then the shock wore off. _Right, they're rich_.

Her eyes followed Lillie's gaze, focusing on Gladion who seemed completely out of it. He himself just had a black duffle tossed over his shoulder, earbuds in and glaring off into the distance, probably not even listening to Lillie. As Moon went to point them out to Sun, she found he had vanished.

Seconds later she found him talking to Hau and Ilima, a sigh escaping from her.

Whatever. She'd talk to everyone later.

Eyes half-lidded and ready to fall asleep standing up, Moon shuffled over to Lillie and Gladion, who were now accompanied by Mallow and Lana.

"Oh, Moon!" Mallow called out, waving at her. As she stopped in front of the group, Lana let out a giggle.

"You look half-dead! Acerola would have a hay day with you right now," she noted, hand covering her mouth. Moon just glared in reply.

"No sleep," she murmured, a loud yawn taking over her sentence half way through.

"Excited, though?" Lillie asked, voice bright and cheerful. She seemed perfectly prepped for the day, unlike the rest of them. The group nodded in unison, then flinched slightly as a loud whistle rang out overhead.

"I guess that's our signal to head towards our ship!" Mallow cheered, linking arms with Lillie and Lana and heading off, following the flowing body of students.

Moon and Gladion followed behind them. "This is going to be a long two-hour trip, isn't it?" Moon asked him, taking a sip of her coffee.

Gladion nodded, head turning to stare at her a few moments before holding out his hand towards her, clenching and unclenching it. "You should let me have some," he grumbled softly.

"You don't even like coffee."

"Please," he said, slightly exasperated. Moon obliged, and he took a swig from it, face contorting slightly from the bitter flavour. Handing it back to her, he groaned. "I can't believe you drink it that strong."

"Maybe you're just weak," Moon retorted, taking another sip herself. "This flows through my veins."

"You're crazy and going to die from a caffeine overdose one day."

"Nuh-uh."

The process for boarding the ship was atrocious. One had to find their professor, sign a sheet to say they were present, and then could join the line to enter the ferry.

However, between tired students and teachers, everyone was everywhere and the line was as good as nonexistent. Some students strayed off to the sides, hoping to board once it wasn't so crowded. Others pushed and shoved, wanting to grab the "good seats" as soon as possible.

It turned out that Mallow and Sun were some of those individuals.

The group followed the two as they made their way through the body of students, Hau and Kiawe lending their strength to the front lines as well. They chose a section to the centre-left of the ship, everyone finding a partner to sit with for the lines of doubled up seats.

Up a couple of rows, Moon watched as Ilima and Hau bickered back and forth.

"Sun and I are basically best friends! We should sit together!" Hau declared, pounding his fist to his chest. Ilima stood opposite him, arms crossed.

"I'm certain Sun wouldn't want to sit with you when you're this boisterous in the morning," he replied curtly, eyes glancing toward Sun, who could only shake his head.

The two continued to bicker. Moon had zoned out on their argument, mind wandering off behind half-lidded eyes, but was pulled back by a faint pressure on her arm.

Gladion was tugging on her arm.

 _Oh?_

"Sit with me. You won't bug me insistently," he murmured, pulling her down to sit with him. She landed in the seat beside him, bags in her lap. Gladion sighed at the blank stare he received from Moon, and stood to store her bags in the compartment above them.

She could faintly see Hau being pulled away by Lillie, a somewhat dazed look on his face as he was pushed into his seat by the girl. A giggle left Moon, amused by her friends.

Kiawe and Mallow sat in front of her and Gladion, and Mallow turned around, huge grin on her face. "Two hours and we'll be in the heart of Malie City! I heard we're supposed to visit the gardens first after we get settled into the hotel."

"Yes, as we're all well aware," Gladion drawled, earbuds in hand as he sat back in his seat. Mallow smirked in response, turning back in her seat to talk to Kiawe.

Moon had begun to listen to her own music, another yawn leaving her. Her now empty coffee thermos was tucked away in her bag, and who knew how long it would be before she could refill it.

The ferry started not long after, and the gentle rocking of the calm sea lulled her to sleep.

* * *

The better part of an hour later, Lillie witnessed the most amazing thing. As she looked over her shoulder to take in the excited students around her, her eyes caught a hint of two people sleeping throughout the chatter.

She was blessed to have such a good big brother, truly. But no one else ever saw his kinder, sweeter sides.

Save for Moon, who Lillie was certain had a crush on her brother. Positively.

Moon had gravitated to Gladion from the first day of the second semester, and ever since they had steadily gotten closer, from what she could tell.

The best part was that Gladion seemed to enjoy her company, which was a huge bonus in its self.

A grin – a toothy, radiant smile – grew on Lillie's face as she witnessed the duo sleeping soundly through the ruckus, earphones in and ignoring everything other than their small bubble.

It was adorable, really. Moon must have fallen asleep first, her head resting on Gladion's shoulder. His head lulled against her own, the hand holding chin supported by his elbow on the armrest.

She couldn't help but giggle as she snapped a few photos.

Hau perked up beside her, wanting to know what was so funny. As he followed Lillie's line of sight, he almost choked.

And then he pulled out his own phone. "Wait until Sun sees this, oh my gosh."

* * *

Moon was shaken awake, muffled voice drowned out by her music. She blinked, taking in the rays of sun with a soft groan.

"We're at Malie City port," Gladion told her after pulling out one of her ear buds, already standing with his and Moon's bags over his shoulders. It was amusing to see such a stark contrast between his black and red outfit, and the pastel pink clefairy. "Everyone's getting off the boat. C'mon."

Drowsily, Moon stood, and took her bags from Gladion. Muttering a small "thanks", she followed him out of the ship, where they met with the rest of their group. The girls had devilish grins on their faces, though nothing was said.

The trek to the hotel was to be at least half an hour its self, with the latter part of the hour reserved for the students to get settled in the rooms they would be sharing. As far as Moon was aware, they could choose who they would bunk with, as long as no shenanigans ensured.

The group chattered on about the activities they could partake in on the free day they had, and Sun pointed out that Malie City had man-made hot springs.

 _Brother, no,_ Moon thought, glaring resentfully at her twin. _No shenanigans, remember?!_

The hotel its self was a grand thing, the outside design reminiscent of Johto buildings, as was most of Malie City. Moon was reminded of Ecruteak – she had seen photos of the traditional city, though she had never been there herself.

The group was in awe, and gasped at the inside of the building. Marble floors, high vaulted ceiling complete with a skylight, a bamboo and rock garden located in the middle, surrounded by plush furniture. It was breathtaking, Moon thought.

 _How does the school afford shit like this?_

After checking in, students broke off into groups of four, and followed the stairs or took the elevator to their rooms. The third and forth floors were theirs for the taking, more than likely giving them a good view of the streets below.

Moon nudged herself closer and closer to Lillie, Mallow and Lana, hoping they would take her with open arms.

An arm slung over her shoulder, belonging to the boisterous, green-haired girl. "You're alright with rooming with us, Moon?"

"Of course."

* * *

She was wrong.

Oh, boy, was she wrong.

It was nothing but insistent teasing as soon the door closed to the room behind them. Two queen sized beds laid out before them, a few chairs available for seating, TV mounted on the wall. A coffee maker was settled into the corner on top of a small desk, and Moon made a beeline for it.

Her face would have been bright red if she _did_ have a crush on Gladion.

"You should see the picture Lillie took of the two of you! It was _adorable_ ," Mallow cooed, Lana snickering behind her. Lillie laughed along as well, albeit with a little less gusto.

"I couldn't resist," she murmured, smile on her face.

"I can't believe you never told us you had a crush on our resident edgelord, though!" Mallow exclaimed, walking over to Moon who was still fussing with the coffee maker, apparently absorbed in the task at hand.

"But I don't," she tried to get out, meekly, but was shushed immediately.

"Your secret is safe with us!" Mallow pattered her hard on the back, causing Moon to groan.

A few more playful jabs and one quickly downed cup of coffee later, the girls regrouped with everyone else, preparing to head off to Malie Garden. Moon glanced down toward the schedule each student was given; they had free reign to explore almost as much as the city as they wanted, as long as they let teachers know where they were headed and used the buddy system. She bit the inside of her cheek, bemused by the freedom they were given.

It was a quick walk to the entrance of the vast garden, and Moon was surprised to see how big it was. "This isn't a garden," she muttered, brows furrowed. "It's a goddamn park."

Beside her, Ilima laughed. "According to its web page, it's about the same size as the National Park in Johto."

"There's supposed to be a pretty awesome tea shop here, too!" Hau exclaimed on the other side of Sun, pumping his fist into the air. Between the two boys, Sun laughed, clearly enjoying himself.

"Tea shop?" Gladion repeated, clearly interested in the idea of more caffeine. He stopped beside Moon as the group formed a half-assed circle, slowly breaking off to explore different areas of the gardens.

Mallow and Lana snickered, softly pushing Moon towards Gladion. "You two could _probably_ use more caffeine! Go on, we won't stop you!" The dark-haired girl glowered at the two, scowl deepening when she glanced toward Ilima – his eyebrows were raised in amusement, obviously unaware of the matchmaking that was going on.

Gladion's eyes looked back and forth between Moon and where she was looking, a deadpan expression slowly forming on his face. Had Lillie told them her conspiracy theory? With a sigh, he placed his hands on Moon's shoulders, following the teahouse signs and pushing her in the right direction.

Far enough away from the group, he let go, moving to walk beside her. "I suppose she told the others you apparently have a crush on me?" Moon stopped, a coughing fit overtaking her. Gladion turned, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Fuck," she wheezed, hands on her knees, regaining her breath. "I forgot you knew about that."

His brows creased further.

"You really should try to swear less." Moon stared blankly at Gladion for a few moments, a quizzical look washing over her soon after. It melted into shock, after that, a chuckle escaping from her.

"Holy shit, I've never heard you swear," she said, beginning to walk toward the teahouse again.

"I _don't_ swear."

"Even Lillie does."

"And it's a bad habit for her, as well."

"It's also a bad habit of hers to take pictures of people sleeping."

"She did _what now?_ "

Moon stopped, turned around and walked up to Gladion, one hand on her hip whilst the other poked his chest. "We apparently fell asleep on the ferry, _and she took a picture of us_ ," Moon accentuated each word with a poke, and Gladion's cheeks changed to a soft pink.

Moon backed off, and Gladion held his head in his hand, slowly dragging it down his face as he groaned.

"At least they don't know about your real crush?" He said softly after a few moments, deep breaths easing his agitation.

Moon hummed. "That's a plus, I guess."

When the duo finally reached the tea shop, Moon almost shrieked.

Wait, not almost.

She did.

Just, quietly.

" _They have bubble tea_ ," she whisper-yelled to Gladion, bouncing on the balls of her feet. He raised a brow at her.

"Bubble tea?"

Moon gasped, hand flying to her heart. "You poor soul. I'll be right back."

With that, she raced to the counter, a slight spring in her step.

Gladion tilted his head, hand on his chin. When she was excited about something, she mirrored her brother almost perfectly. He shook his head after, sitting on one of the benches and taking in the sight of the gardens.

It _felt_ like it was built by people from Johto, from the way the bridges were laid out, to the towers off in the distance, to the shape of the man-made lake. The sight of water pokemon playing with the children in the garden, splashing them playfully, made him smile.

Ledyba buzzed around, minding their own business. It was like a scene out of a painting – he would be surprised if he didn't see Mina jotting down sketches at some point on the trip.

Moon returned, two plastic cups of cold beverage in her hands, large orbs decorating the bottom of the cups. She handed him the vanilla-coloured one, herself drinking out of a yellow-orange one.

"Just try it," she reassured him. "I got you vanilla, since that seemed about right."

"You wound me," he feinted, looking at the drink quizzically before taking a small sip.

It wasn't half bad.

His thanks brought a large smile to Moon's face. She motioned for him to walk with her. "We might as well take a good tour of the place," she said with a shrug.

They wandered around in silence, reaching the northwestern corner of the gardens where another rock garden was placed, behind it a tower reminiscent of the ones from Ecruteak.

Out from behind the tower appeared a blue-haired boy, followed by a pack of people wearing dark clothes and white beanies, scarves tied over their faces. Before Moon and Gladion could move out of their field of vision, they were spotted, the blue-haired boy grinning wildly.

"How's it going, _Gladbag_?" His voice sounded familiar, as was the taunting nickname, though Moon couldn't place him. He wasn't on the trip with them, was he?

The group behind him laughed, messes of dyed hair bouncing back and forth with their movements.

Gladion moved in front of Moon, arm splayed defensively. "What do you want?"

One of the delinquents moved forward – a girl with bright pink hair. "We want to know why you're on our turf. This island is run by Team Skull, you know."

With that, the group of delinquents threw their pokeballs upwards, bright lights blinding Gladion and Moon.

* * *

d-d-d-d-do-dokuro


	7. Karma

oops sorry its been over a month

the province i live in is like completely on fire and its been super busy at work because of the evacuees and also I have to figure out my courses for my next two semesters of university so yay ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

good news is that i can take programming and game design and those credits actually go towards me graduating eventually so thats rad!

have fun i have no idea where this is going anymore but at least there's plot happening

* * *

The light faded, and Moon stood, shocked, at the sight before her. Akemi appeared beside her, bent low to the ground, growling at the foes in front of them.

The Team Skull members before Moon and Gladion lowered their arms, having also been blinded by the light. Their pokemon were dazed, and were quickly recalled when they realized what was before them.

Gladion backed up closer to Moon, eyes on the floating, jellyfish-like _thing_ before them. A rift behind it glowed an eerie blue, warping the space and time around it like a seam rip on fabric. Though it was still a bright day, the area around them darkened, as if the whole area was beginning to warp with whatever the heck was happening.

Moon bit down on her lip, hard, to force herself not to freeze in shock. She licked her lips, a hint of iron present, and watched the creature as it began to chirrup, waving its tentacles in a circular motion.

The grunts hightailed it out of the area, almost tripping over each other in a sore attempt to get away from the oddity. Gladion exhaled, a sharp hiss releasing from between his clenched teeth. " _Fuck_ ," he said, so softly Moon barely heard him. He stole a glance to her behind him, hoping she was okay.

"Gladion… what is that?" She asked, nails digging in to the palms of her hands to ground herself.

Instead of answering, his hand flew to his waist where his pokeballs sat. He gave Moon another look. "You're to tell no one about what's happening."

And with that, he tossed one of his pokeballs, releasing a pokemon Moon had never seen before. From what she could see by peeking over Gladion's shoulder, the creature before them was a quadruped, and was the very definition of chimera. Its caged head turned to look back at Gladion, awaiting patiently for orders.

He called for it to use crush claw, and the chimera leap forward toward the otherworldly creature, claws raking against its body. It released a shrill sound, like fingernails to chalkboard, before sending a psywave back in retaliation.

"Null, dodge!" Gladion called out, hands curled into tight fists. Null jumped out of the way of the psychic beam just in time, skidding to a stop through the now ruined grass. Another cry emitted from the jellyfish, this time summoning rocks, aiming them toward Gladion and Moon.

"Null –"

"Akemi, protect!" Moon called, her espeon rushing out in front of them, gem glowing a deep red. A barrier surrounded them instantly, shielding them from the rocks that pelted the translucent wall with enough force to make Moon flinch at the impact. As the rocks fell, dust and dirt was thrown into the air, creating a dense cloud that made it impossible to see.

They stood there quietly, eyes glancing around wildly for any signs of the creature through the haze.

"What type do you think it is? _Does it even have a type_?" Moon asked Gladion as she scooted closer to him, punting her forgotten bubble tea with the side of her foot. An instance of sadness passed her as she mourned the drink, and then her mind focused once again on the task at hand. The dust was beginning to settle, and Moon sighed as she noticed the outline of trees and shrubs once again.

A few more moments passed before Gladion uttered a reply. "It's been registered as rock and poison, though that hardly matters now since it left through the wormhole." He relaxed visibly, and Moon took note that the hole had vanished completely.

Gladion called over the chimera that aided them, and it pranced over, eyes squished happily as if it had done a good job. He squatted down to ruffle the pokemon's fur, and reached into his bag with his free hand. He pulled out a handful of pokebeans, offering them to the chimera who hovered over them excitedly, its happy barks sounding somewhat mechanical.

Moon furrowed her brows, curious about the two creatures she had witnessed – was currently witnessing. "Wormhole? Gladion, what the hell." Her hands rested on her hips as she eyed the boy. She would freak out about everything _after_ she got some answers. Sighing, Gladion rose, giving the chimera one last pat before returning it to its pokeball. He turned to face Moon, an expression of seriousness painting his features.

Gladion crossed his arms before he began. "I'm not telling you everything," he paused, blowing his bangs out of his face, "but I can at least tell you about Null, I guess.

"Type: Null is my partner; we suffer the same fate. We saved each other, and we grow with each other – our only goal is to become strong." He turned his head to the side as he finished, a faint dusting of red visible on his cheeks. Moon stared blankly at him.

"For someone who sounds like he's made for the theatre, you told me absolutely nothing," she replied, smiling tiredly. With a shake of her head and another sigh, she recalled Akemi and turned to head back towards the Malie Garden entrance.

She began to walk, but came to a pause a few feet away. "Tell me when you're ready, I guess."

Gladion watched as she disappeared around a grouping of trees, adamant about his decision to not tell her anything.

* * *

Moon's thoughts swirled as she walked back to the hotel, buddy system be damned. She had too many questions, and none had been answered by an overly dramatic Gladion.

Honestly, what was his deal, anyway? "Suffer the same fate," _puh-lease_.

… Though, she would like to know about that pokemon he had. She had never seen him with it before. Was it a secret – was he hiding it? And then there was that jellyfish creature, too. Moon bit her cheek. It would be a bad idea to tell the others about it.

This was something she would have to figure out on her own.

As she followed the sidewalk, the girl noticed a district map and stopped to check it out. It labelled the current location, Malie Garden, hotels, hotspots for tourists, as well as a library. Moon hummed thoughtfully, a smile slowly forming on her face as the figurative lightbulb above her head blinked on. A library would be the perfect place to get _all sorts_ of information.

She continued down the sidewalk, a small spring in her step.

If Gladion wouldn't tell her anything, she'd have to look herself. The last thing she'd want to do was leave him to deal with – whatever that was – alone.

* * *

Moon wasn't expecting research to be so _hard_ , though. She sat at one of the longer tables, smack dab in the middle, books and magazines piled around her, her head in her hands. The girl let out a groan, slumping farther into her seat.

A glance at her phone confirmed she had been at the library for two hours already, with nothing to show for her work.

Okay, maybe she found, like, one thing. It wasn't important though. Her eyes scanned over the magazine – the demographic was centered around casual science lovers – and the blond lady on the front cover. She had stood out to Moon for some reason, though she couldn't place why. Lusamine, the woman on the cover, seemed to be the head of Aether Foundation – whatever that was. Moon hadn't gotten much farther before her brain had imploded.

She made a note on her phone, however, hoping to look into it more later.

Her phone vibrated just as she was about to put it down, and she sighed at the text message.

 _Sun: Where the hell are you?_

A thought crossed her mind, and before Moon could think better of it, she replied.

 _Moon: I'm at soup._

 _Sun: Glad you're alive. Meet us at Sushi High Roller for lunch._

Moon pouted.

 _Moon: Only if you pay for me._

* * *

Sushi High Roller was jam-packed when Moon entered the restaurant. She looked all around, hoping to find familiar mops of hair, though there were so many people it was hard to tell. Were half of the students there, or was it that popular normally?

A hand placed on her shoulder made her jump and spin on her heel, nearly falling into Gladion. He sighed, shaking his head. "This way." He beckoned her, then started down to the right of the building, headed towards long rows of tables. Moon followed him, a small smile present once Lillie, Hau, her brother, and the others came into view.

She took her seat beside her brother, elbowing him gently. Sun rolled his eyes at her antics, elbowing her back with just as much force. "We ordered already. Good thing I know what you like," he said with a slight shake of his head.

"So where were you for the past two hours? We looked all over Malie Garden but couldn't find you," Lillie started, her pout exaggerated, arms crossed. Moon flushed, turning her head to the side.

What would she tell them?

"I was at the library," she said carefully, eyes looking everywhere but at Lillie and whoever was listening. "It looked really interesting." Gladion raised a brow at her, but Lillie's expression changed to a huge grin in a span of seconds as she slammed her hands down on the table, clearly excited.

"Why didn't you tell me that's where you were going?! I heard the Malie library had an amazing assortment of mythologies!" Her eyes were absolutely _glowing_ , Moon noticed.

What, was she interested in the myths surrounding legendaries, or something?

"We can go back tomorrow?" Moon offered, raising her hands in mock-defeat. The blond girl settled down at this, though if you watched carefully, you could see Lillie bouncing in her seat.

"The only places we're going to for certain tomorrow," Sun interjected, placing a hand on Moon's shoulder whilst the other was held in front of him, arcing horizontally as he continued, "are the hot springs, and the mall."

"Turns out Soup is an actual store," Hau chimed in, chuckling. "He made me go in there to look for you."

Sun blushed.

"I did not! My sister can look after herself," he huffed, crossing his arms and looking away. Ilima chuckled, patting Sun's shoulder.

Hau offered Moon a wry smile, shrugging slightly before delving into a conversation about what the group would get for dessert, cheering for malasadas.

Moon sighed, turning back to Lillie. "So, what's so interesting about those mythologies?" Lillie beamed.

"Well, to begin, it's said that Alola's legendaries were once from another dimension –"

"That's _enough_ , Lillie," Gladion interrupted, eyes narrowing at her. Both her and Moon stared at Gladion incredulously.

What was his problem?

That had nothing to do with what happened earlier, did it –

Oh.

So it did.

Moon smiled smugly towards Gladion, gears churning in her head.

"Ignore your bratty bother, Lillie," Moon chimed, waving her hand in front of her passively. "Please, go on."

* * *

In other news Moon is gonna start to take the reigns and DO STUFF and STOP BEING a PASSIVE character ive had enough

I've also been playing tales of the abyss on and off and its made me want to go work on my original stuff hoo wee mama


End file.
